


Day 1

by Nikasha



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Minor description of killing, The story is sad but the dog is okay!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikasha/pseuds/Nikasha
Summary: Zack needs some hope. He finds it in the form of an abandoned puppy.
Kudos: 3





	Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Zack Week day one!  
> Prompt:  
> Animal Care  
> Puppy / Restless / Stamp
> 
> My head kind of hurts so I just churned this out real quick. Got a real bittersweet vibe.

It was raining, the dirt turned to mud under his boots. Every article of clothing on his body was soaked through, and he was contemplating just stripping down to his boots and pants. He would probably get reprimanded if he did. It would be worth it.  
  
Zack heard rifle fire in the distance. Adrenaline spiked in his blood and he lifted his sword, slung it onto his back, and started running.  
  
By the time he got there, the mud was red. For all his speed, there were more enemy than ally by the time he arrived. He slashed through the rebels like butter, left rivers of blood and viscera. One of the ShinRa soldiers, spooked and traumatized, shot him. Luckily the bullet hit his pauldron and glanced off, but he was quick to shove their rifle down to the ground and bark, “Cease fire!” in their face. The grunt swallowed and backed up.  
  
He saved two people. There had been eight.  
  
They picked the bodies for ID’s and left them to advance.

—

He was so sick of rain. He sat under the overhang of a building in one of the villages they had routed and tried to dry off. His clothes were beginning to stink and itch. He had peeled off his boots and socks, but all it did was get his feet muddy.  
  
He sighed.  
  
There was a whimper.  
  
Zack came to attention immediately, eyes narrowed as he tracked the noise. He followed little scuffing sounds into the battered and dilapidated interior of the house, then to a barely sheltered corner.  
  
A mud-caked, wide-eyed ball of dark fur stared at him and went silent.  
  
His heart leapt into his throat. “Hey, little guy,” he murmured, putting his sword aside and crouching low. “It’s okay.” He reached out.  
  
The puppy cowered away, visibly shaking. It gave a tiny growl, then coughed.  
  
“Ohh no.” A cold maybe. Or worse. He should really just put the poor thing out of its misery.  
  
It stared up at him with wide, shining dark eyes.

—

He named it Stamp. A joke based on the propaganda dog of ShinRa. Someone confirmed it was a male. After they washed the grime away, they found out it was a sandy brown color with white paws and snout. Its ribs were visible.  
  
Zack fed him from his rations and healed his cough with help from another cadet who knew a bit about veterinary care and herbs. The military wouldn’t lend him a materia to cure it. Stamp reached the top of Zack’s boot, a tiny little thing with a weak bark. Stamp curled into his side at night to sleep and avoided the Soldiers. He seemed terrified of Sephiroth.  
  
Angeal thought the little pup was funny and gave him treats. The grunts loved him. Sephiroth didn’t seem to know what to do with him. Genesis didn’t find him interesting.  
  
Zack didn’t really care what they thought of his buddy. Stamp followed him around battlefields and villages alike.

—

And then one day Stamp disappeared. Zack whistled and called. He never came. He was heartbroken, assuming something had happened to the little guy. He accepted it with poor grace.  
  
“You couldn’t have taken him home with you anyway,” Angeal told him, eyes full of pity.  
  
Sephiroth noticed Zack’s dejection. He disappeared for a couple days.  
  
He returned carrying Zack’s puppy.  
  
“Where was he?” Zack asked as he took the wriggling brown animal. He laughed as Stamp gave him kisses.  
  
Sephiroth shrugged. “Some people took him in. I told them he had an owner.”  
  
Zack froze. He looked down at the puppy. He thought about the dangers he faced daily, the people he worked with who didn’t care for dogs, the apartment back at Midgar that he wouldn’t be able to visit often to take care of a dog. “Take him back.”  
  
Sephiroth quirked a brow. “Why?”  
  
“He’ll be happier there.” Zack smiled at the puppy, then smiled at Sephiroth. “Thank you.”  
  
Sephiroth crossed his arms and shook his head. “If you say so.”

—

Years later, Aerith was tending her flowers. She paused in her work as she felt a presence and turned. A sandy brown dog was sitting next to the patch, his fur tinged green. He looked at her.  
  
She smiled at him. “Stamp, is it? Zack talked about you.” She reached out and pet his ears. “Don’t worry. He’s waiting for you.”  
  
Stamp blinked. He wuffed and licked her hand. Then faded into green particles and disappeared.  
  
Aerith stroked the petal of a flower. “Take care of Zack for me,” she murmured to the empty church.  
  
“I’ll be fine,” the Lifestream whispered.  
  
And she smiled.


End file.
